ISSARA by d HOSTEL BANGKOK
125 Fueang Nakhon Rd, Wat Ratchabophit, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10200
Order the coconut chiffon cake before the Thai plates. The homemade bakery uses Japanese formulas and the cakes move faster than the lunch menu. Cash only, so hit the ATM before you sit. The glass walls make this brighter and more open than most Old Town shophouse cafes.
You walk into a glass-fronted room on the ground floor of a hostel, and the first thing you register is wooden furniture catching orange light. Alice Cafe sits at 125 Fueang Nakhon Road, directly opposite Wat Ratchabophit in the heart of Phra Nakhon's temple district, operating out of the ground level of ISSARA by d Hostel. The space runs bright and open, with clear glass surrounding the seating area, warm-toned wooden tables and chairs, and orange-hued lighting that softens the midday glare from the street.
The menu splits into two clear sections: Thai single-dish comfort plates and homemade bakery. The Thai side lists seafood basil rice, fried fish with tamarind sauce, pad thai with shrimp, and fried shrimp cakes, all priced at ฿165 per dish. The kitchen sends out clear-broth Thai preparations designed for solo diners who want something straightforward and filling. The bakery counter offers matcha fresh cream roll and chocolate fresh cream roll at ฿65 each, blueberry cheesecake at ฿85, and brownies with whipped cream at ฿60. The cafe makes these in-house using Japanese cake formulas, and the coconut chiffon has earned a local reputation as what they call the number one souvenir in Phra Nakhon.
Beverages include Thai milk tea at ฿60, matcha latte at ฿80, and Alice ice coffee at ฿80. The drinks use fresh milk and the coffee pulls strong enough to cut through the humidity. The room gives you multiple seating configurations: a counter bar if you are working solo with a laptop, long communal tables for groups of three or four, and low sofa seating for slower afternoons when you want to stretch a single order across an hour.
Bring cash. The cafe does not accept cards at the counter, and the nearest ATM sits a few minutes' walk toward the main road. The Old Town location puts you within walking distance of the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, and Khao San Road, and MRT Sam Yot station is an eight-minute walk if you are connecting from the subway. The ground-floor position makes this an easy break from temple circuits without climbing stairs or navigating deeper into the neighborhood's narrow soi network.